Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

73 reviews

lyndsay_bibliophile's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

Moon of the Crusted Snow is a slow burn, with a beautifully eerie setting, rewarding patient readers with its nuanced portrait of community, resilience, and uncertainty. The build-up is masterful, heavy with foreshadowing. Rice subtly paints a picture of their simple, resilient lives, making the impending disaster feel all the more chilling.

As unease creeps in and grocery shelves echo the eerie panic of the pandemic, you know something big is brewing. The constant anticipation is gripping. This is a book that begs to be read in the heart of winter, its stark prose mirroring the frozen landscape.

While undeniably fictional, the story resonates with the enduring strength and resilience of Indigenous peoples. However, for a book that lingers so long in the quiet dread, the ending felt rushed. It left threads dangling. Thankfully, there's a sequel, and I'm eagerly reaching for it to complete the journey.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Cannibalism and Alcohol

biobeetle's review against another edition

dark informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Violence

Moderate: Murder, Colonisation, Animal death, Suicide, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Addiction

mjthomas43's review against another edition

dark hopeful informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death and Death

Minor: Suicide, Cannibalism, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Murder

shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Cannibalism

lady_of_the_labyrinth's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Gun violence

Moderate: Suicide and Cannibalism

Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism

emalderwood's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Murder, Death, Xenophobia, and Racial slurs

Minor: Genocide, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Addiction

kellyofcali's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

While I appreciated this post-apocalyptic tale from a First Nations author, I sometimes struggled a bit with the pacing - the action moved in spurts, and sometimes stepped into and out of dreams or through time a bit confusingly. It also almost skipped over the actual action, which was an interesting choice - not sure 100% how I felt about it. Overall though, I liked the story and the setting, and it was an easy listen (I did audiobook). Be warned, the narrator reads quite slowly.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Cannibalism

Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Murder, Racism, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Xenophobia, Addiction, and Animal death

charlottesreadingweb's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book reads like a debut. The story is solid, and I enjoyed it overall. It probably could have been longer to allow more substantial character development, which would have made the climax of the story more meaningful. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Racism and Addiction

sapphire_mayo's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Murder, Suicide, and Gun violence

Minor: Death, Alcoholism, and Colonisation

lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Believe it or not, but this is a compliment: I almost DNF'd this book; the apocalypse felt too real, and I was uncomfortable.  I even had an unsettling dream about this book.  In this tale, we are following Evan, primarily, who lives on a Anishinaabe reservation in Ontario as winter is approaching.  Then they lose power, internet, cell service, food deliveries, and diesel fuel.  The community finds itself cut off, and then a white man/stranger comes and disrupts things.  I actually found the second half a bit disappointing.  It felt like we were getting bullet points of the story and we never see the white man's machinations, other than at one brief party.  I don't know that we need it spelled out, but I would have liked to see more of him being the villain, rather than just being told he is corrupting people.  I also found the characterization to be a bit shallow, but maybe they are meant to be types, more than people?  There are definitely some good points made about survival, the destruction that white supremacy/colonization has caused to the indigenous people, and maintaining close ties with one's community and beliefs.  

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Classism, Murder, Colonisation, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Violence